


A Wake Up Call

by meryuukan



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 04:37:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21009857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meryuukan/pseuds/meryuukan
Summary: Banri got in a sticky situation with the undead. He didn't realize the clear blue eyes and the faint pout of the stranger he met last night would lead him further to the matters of the supernatural.





	A Wake Up Call

**Author's Note:**

> One day after I read countless of vampire AU fics I thought, 'What if Tsumugi is a vampire?' and that question lead to the making of this fic. As usual this is unbeta'd so apologies for the mistakes.

Banri wandered to the dark alley, his legs almost gave out. After running away from a mob of terrifying creatures his breath was short and ragged before he lost his balance, his tall body stumbled to the hard stone pathways. His head was spinning while scoffing at his rare moment of misfortune in his ‘super ultra easy mode’ lifestyle.

Apparently yesterday he challenged some random group he found on an internet forum out of boredom, which turned out to be a disaster. Banri didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary by the time he arrived at the empty warehouse near the pier by midnight sharp. Several men gathered inside the building, ready to face the mysterious challenger by cracking their knuckles and readied their stance. Banri had arrived wearing a dark hoodie and sweatpants, his face covered with a mask to make sure no one will catch their act and drag him to the nearby police station once the fight is over. He hated that time when someone caught him beating the O High delinquents which resulted in him being scolded by his parents and his sister in Veludo Police Station. 

"Yo! I'm Neo. I'm the one who is challenging you guys on the 0chon forum yesterday." he said. 

A silhouette of what looks like the leader of the group stood imposingly in the middle. His voice was deep and echoed to the whole room. "Hmph. Neo, pleased to be meeting you." The mysterious figure said as he slowly reveals himself. Clad in all black, the man was tall, imposing and Banri couldn't tell that the man's bright yellow eyes were just there for aesthetic or it was the real deal. 

The man propped his sunglasses before speaking loud and clear. "For tonight, we will fight fairly. No weapons, just bare hands like you and I agreed together on the chat." The leader said calmly. 

"Yep. Gotta use your fist or else it'll ruin the fun. How's that?" Banri said eagerly. He cracked his knuckles until there was a popping sound. 

The leader let out a laugh as if to mock the young man. "Let us see then." The group suddenly disappeared into the shadows, as if beckoning the brunette to come in and join them in a fight. 

Banri prepped his fists and legs into a fighting stance, quickly noticed that the temperature inside the room suddenly dropped, leaving him shivering under his thick wool hoodie. He barely moved his legs when one of the guys (who was it? why is he suddenly felt afra--) punched him squarely in the face in milliseconds. The moonlight 

shone into the room, revealing three pair of eyes glowing unnaturally yellow, and their long fangs bared from their mouth. 

Crap. Banri knew these guys were not human by the time all three of them gather around him in seconds, pulling a very strong punch on his face, a kick on his stomach and thighs, leaving him lying limply on the dirt below. Banri couldn't make up words of their talking but one of them gripped his hair and yanked roughly to face a pair of unnaturally glowing golden eyes. "Ha, foolish human. You dare to challenge us?" 

One of them kneeled closer beside the other, looking briefly to his beaten face. "Us creatures of the night are not to be taken lightly. Get lost, buddy." Both of them stood after their leader commanded them to stand around him. His luck had already thrown out of the window already since he first stepped into the empty warehouse. There is no way he could beat one or even three inhumans with super speed and strength. 

A rough kick on his body sent him flying quite far towards the entrance of the building. It took all of his strength to rise up and hear the chilling command that scared the crap out of him. "Now then, begone." The leader said nonchalantly before adding, "Unless you want me to suck you dry." 

Banri had never experienced so much fear in one night. Creatures of the night? He read those scary stories when he was a child. He never felt scared when reading it, and he did not even flinch when there was a jumpscare scene. But now? Three of them are out for his blood literally, and the fight quickly became a one-sided beatdown. He gathered all of his being to escape the area, to run away as far as he could, sweat already formed all over his body as he limply ran away from the building to a dark alleyway. His limp body almost bumped hard towards the dumpster, bumping his head on something and as a result he is now lying on the ground face first. Banri's last memory is him managing to lean on the dumpster before a pair of blue eyes looked straight towards him. He barely remembered anything before he passed out soon after. 

Tsumugi Tsukioka was a part-time cram school teacher and freeter, working six days a week teaching several subjects only the night class. He woke up, prepared his usual coffee blend, taking a shower, eating his favorite omelette with the usual drink, walking to his workplace, and teaching the kids like usual. After that he would take the night shift at the nearby convenience store. He occasionally took jobs at the theatre when he has some spare time at weekends or during night offs, wishing that someday he could stood at position zero in the stage’s center as a real actor (maybe someday, someday when they allow people like him to stand beneath the bright stage lights). After that, he would walk leisurely on the riverside, enjoying the amazing view he never get bored of and finally getting into his apartment by the time the sky showed a hint of purple. Rinse and repeat, he did the same routine for several months already since he moved out from his hometown to work near Veludo Way. 

Tsumugi had never experienced daylight in many long years. He definitely isn't the early bird type at all, that's what his childhood friend Tasuku is. But moving to a big city and adapting to the hustle and bustle of a theatre district like Veludo is quite hard for him at first. Tasuku no longer lives alongside him, the taller man prefer to live with his pack as their newly chosen leader, as he recalled from their most recent conversation on the phone just several nights ago. Living alone has made him quite famished, and it's not because he often eats his all time favorite meal omelette, he eats the simple yet delicious egg meal for its creamy taste and texture, not to replenish mere hunger. It’s what creatures of the night like him crave the most. 

Blood. 

Several boxes of blood supplies he brought when moving to his new apartment needed to be replenished before the end of the week, and unfortunately no one's selling these packs openly nearby or at least near Veludo Way. He lived in the neighborhood mostly consists of humans, and he tried his best not to be the suspicious neighbor in the building. 

Fortunately Tsumugi didn’t have any major problems with any of the residents so far. If he recalled correctly, there was this lovely old lady on the other side of the hall who comes out only in the evening. She reminded him of his grandmother, his mentor who turned him during desperate times of war many years ago. Having been turned for less than fifty years making him quite young for a vampire, because of that his vampiric features haven't fully developed yet. “Give it fifty more years and you would end up like those handsome and shiny vampires from movies,” his mentor jokingly said the other day. 

(Definitely not true, as his mentor showed no sign of sparkling and fragrant aura and ended up looking fairly human-like except for her glowing clear blue eyes and fangs much longer than his, her features indicate that on outside she looks in her late forties yet she said over the times she had already lived in Japan for over a hundred years long). 

Tonight was supposed to be Tsumugi’s day, or rather his night-off. He brought a small carton of blood, its package cleverly disguised as a normal juice carton and sipping it absent-mindedly while strolling on the brick pathways next to the riverbank. 

It happened in a flash when Tsumugi noticed somebody was running past him, almost knocking his carton off. Tsumugi briefly smelled blood, and quite the amount of adrenaline and fear coming from the man. He saw the running man turned sharply into the nearest alleyway before disappearing into the darkness. Tsumugi decided to follow the man after finishing the drink, which become very bland and tasteless immediately after sensing human blood. For vampires, any animal blood could never beat the taste of human blood. It was also the reason why several groups of vampires constantly hunted humans and drank their blood until they started to get crazy and caused an all out war of the vampire community years ago. It costed Tsumugi everything, including his life and humanity. 

The alleyway was dark, save for the gas lamp above the large, dumpster bin. Tsumugi immediately found the stranger now sitting on the pathway, leaning on the dumpster bin, breathing hard from exhaustion. His face and arms was visibly bruised, his eyes hazy and he doesn't seem to be conscious. "Are you okay?" Tsumugi shook the man's shoulders as he looked straight at the hazed, blue purple eyes before they abruptly closed. He quickly checked his pulse, which was still beating under that inviting nape underneath the hoodie, but Tsumugi resisted the thought again, as sucking blood without consent is certainly against his morals, and vampire’s moral code in general. 

Tsumugi resisted the urge to sip the blood that coming from his temple, and decided to bring him to his shoulders and dragged him with enough force to get out of the dark and damp alleyway. This was the least he can do, he thought. He would bring the man to a nearby clinic, and probably paid the fee using his own spare cash. He didn't know why he would do this much for a stranger, as he brought the man to the clinic and the doctor quickly brought the man to the clinic room. He got several stares from both the staff and two patients sitting in the waiting room and Tsumugi found it was better to ignore it. After paying the fee (it ended up costing a lot more than he expected since it's probably better to have him sleep in the clinic rather than bringing him, a stranger and a human to his apartment) Tsumugi quickly went home, his body was exhausted after dragging an unconscious human body. He quickly changed his clothes to his sleepwear as the clock near the kitchen showed that it was 3.30 am in the morning. He went to bed shortly afterwards, dreaming nothing but the mysterious man. 

Banri slowly woke up, his eyes still blurry and his head was spinning around. He fluttered his lashes before stood on the bed, his hand shielded the sudden light coming from his left. 

"Ah, you woke up." A woman in white scrubs was sliding the green curtains away, revealing morning sunlight into the room. The brightly lit room was painted white, with several cabinets of medical supplies in front of the bed and next to him. 

"What...the hell…" He barely remembered anything from last night, but he was still certain that he got beaten up senseless by those creatures, and he was lying on the alleyway before someone...helped him. That person must've brought him here, to whatever this place is and leave him here until morning. 

"Uh, miss? Did you see the man who brought me here?" Banri said, his hand gently massaging his throbbing forehead. 

"No, he immediately went home last night. He didn't stay here for long, said he has to take care of something back home." she said. 

Why of course. He probably has to go home to take care of his family or something. He looked at the window next to him. The sun is already up, so it must be at 7 or 8 in the morning. 

"Miss Nurse. Where the hell am I?" Banri asked. 

"You're in Calendula Clinic, sir." she said before leaving the small room by slowly sliding the door. 

Calendula Clinic? He never went to the riverbank area that often so he had never heard of the clinic. But he was very sure that his mysterious saviour was living not far from here. At least he's around Veludo Way. Time to get up and gather some info, he thought. Today is Friday and his college classes will start again on Tuesday, he got several days of slacking and healing from his wounds and bruises in the meantime. 

"Sir, what are you doing?" The nurse immediately went straight to him when Banri attempted to shift his body to stand. 

"I'm leaving the clinic. I think I can stand and walk already." Banri immediately found his shoes underneath the bed, putting it on before standing up straight on the white tiled flooring. 

"Wait, sir! I got to tell the doctor first before you go. Please wait here." The nurse disappeared from the sliding doors. 

"Okay." Banri slumped back onto the bed. He checked his pocket, thankfully all of his belongings were still there. His wallet, his ID and cash is still there, and that person didn't take any single yen of his money. Brilliant. Now he has to somehow find the person and pay back the fee by being an idiot who recklessly got his ass kicked by three vampires. Making sure he didn't leave any of his belongings, he then head straight to the receptionist and sat on the chair. 

"Hello, can I ask who was the person who brought me here?" Banri asked. 

"Settsu Banri isn't it? Please wait a moment." The staff quickly typed something before reading the results. 

"On 2 :49 in the morning, someone named Tsukioka Tsumugi was brought you in. Your fee is already paid by that person last night and you're free to go." she said. 

"Thanks." Banri almost stood from the chair before he asked one last thing to the receptionist, "Oh, and can I have his address? He's a friend of mine, actually." Not that he would consider the man he barely even met last night as his friend, but he probably seemed nice enough to be his friend someday even if he only got to see his blue eyes and the frown from his face last night. Banri finally got Tsukioka-san's address, and he would be heading straight to search for the apartment location if not for his growling stomach and his unfinished play analysis assignments back in his own apartment. And lastly his body hasn't been fully recovered yet, but he had to get his ass going unless he will worry both of his parents who are having a month long holiday in Europe and his sister who works outside the town. 

Tsukioka Tsumugi...definitely a stranger. Wonder why the man brought him here and paid his medical fees even though they haven't met before. Something tells him he had a better chance of meeting the man when the sun is already down. 

By the time Banri had arrived at his apartment, it was already late afternoon. The evening sun lit up his dark apartment with an orange tint through the wooden blinds. His apartment was a bit messy for his standards and he still has several pages of unfinished music sheets from his major’s assignments, stood still on his desk waiting to be scribbled. Being a Music major in Veludo Arts University had him composing several pieces of music for Theatre major students for this semester, and so far he only had blank lines and no messy scribbles when he struck a really great idea for a good composition (so far he is confident enough to say that most of his peers in class practically chased him for his music in group assignments). 

In the past few weeks Banri had almost no inspiration at all for his final assignment for his first year as a freshman. What's even worse is that damned Hyodo dude kept reminding him the deadline for his music is several days from now, or else he would switch him for someone else as competent as him. To maintain his ego Banri took the hard way to hopefully find one using what his past high school self usually do when he skipped class to play games in nearby arcade place or playing the guitar with his already-disbanded underground band. It was brawling with willing strangers. And it resulted in him getting beaten up by three inhuman beings and having to owe and pay back a kind, innocent stranger that helped him recover from his injuries. He felt like a dick for letting someone paid a hefty sum just because he was a reckless young man. 

Banri lived in the apartment relatively close to where he is studying now, with a nice view on the river and the radio tower across the riverbank. Decorated with simple yet modern furniture, he also liked how his apartment is relatively large and none of his neighbors are currently living next to him so he could play his electric guitar all day long without any angry shouting or occasional wall banging. Upon lying his body on his bed he quickly drifted to a nap. Banri woke up several hours later feeling refreshed, and wasting no time to sit on his comfy gaming chair, turned on his PC, three monitor screens to accommodate best gaming experience, and whipped out the Cadmium browser to hopefully answer his suspicions. 

'Their kind have been always hiding among humans, and prefer to dwell in the night rather than face the day. A vampire physically has their own benefits such as sharper senses than humans and their modified anatomy such as paler skin, glowing eyes and elongated fangs. But all of this came to a cost, which was to rely on blood to survive or else they will starve and die.'

Scrolling on the kiwipedia page about vampires still confused the hell out of him. Vampires? What, now they're suddenly are actually real? From what Banri had found on the internet vampires are not just legends and imaginations made for films. So does other creatures such as werewolves and fairies. Now if he recalled correctly, that annoying Hyodo dude he met in several classes said that he was part wolf, a werewolf. Surely that didn't mean Hyodo was actually a werewolf, was he? Banri responded to that by scoffing Hyodo's remark, saying that he doesn't really care if he was a wolf or not, as long as he wouldn't lose to him on the next group assignment. He got a low warning growl as a response and back then he really thought Hyodo was just being a weirdo at the time. But now things are starting to click and make sense, and Banri didn't like the fact that it took a beating that almost cost his life to make him actually believe that yes, there are supernatural creatures living alongside him in this world, especially here in Veludo Way. 

Tsumugi woke up late, or at least he tried not to oversleep because of his teaching shift at the cram school will start in two hours. A faint red light peeked through the darkness, thankfully he had covered it with the curtains just before bed. He disliked the burning sunlight especially during sunset and he made sure to let absolutely none of it into his apartment. 

After drinking one of the last ten of the blood cartons, he decided to search for a good alternative in the online forum which consists only vampire members. He typed a reply on the usual Q&A thread. 

**Tsumu_ , 5:49 p.m. **

Hello, does anyone know any blood supply store near Veludo Way? I'm kind of in a low supply right now. 

Not a minute later he heard a beeping notification from his desktop, someone in the forum had replied to him. 

**Trchi, 5:51 p.m. **

Nah, nobody sells them here. It's mostly human area. You gotta order it online or have a relative send you a box. I did the latter.

Tsumugi sighed. His mentor is probably out of town again, and he probably had to order it online from the forum's market thread. Blood supplies like this had never been sold in the usual online shops like Emazon, he had to enter vampire-only forums and order it there. Thankfully the closest order location was at a two-hour drive away from here. Tsumugi sighed in relief upon seeing the total cost in big bold text and quickly clicked the 'Pay' button. 

After another shift of teaching the kids (he teaches both middle and high school students, and looks like the high school students are going to have their midterms by the end of the month) he then stopped by at a nearby café, one of his favorites when strolling past the riverside. The night air near the rivers was clear as always, but sometimes he would still feel drowsy from several hours of reciting English phrases and grammar patterns. Coffee not only effectively roused him whenever he felt drowsy from lack of sleep, he also quite like the slight bitterness underneath the sweetness of sugar and cream. 

The coffee shop bell rang as he slowly opened the door as he was greeted by the waitress, the same one he saw on his last visit. She wore the usual Cafe Anthea uniform, a white shirt with dark brown apron and her name tag pinned on the shirt. 

"Welcome, sir. Where would you like to sit?" she asked. 

"I'll take the furthest corner as usual." Tsumugi replied.

"Very well, mister." The woman lead the way to the small booth seat, dimly lit save for one bright spotlight above the wooden table. In this café, decorated with healthy collection of vintage traffic signs served one of the most delicious blends he ever tasted in his life. A rich yet nostalgic taste that fit right in with the shop atmosphere. Tsumugi passed by the jukebox that played a classic from the 70s before standing in front of his usual seat only to be occupied by none other than--

"Sir, are you changing seats?" The waitress asked the familiar man who was sipping a cup of coffee. 

"Yeah, well, something tells me that I should move here." he said nonchalantly before turning his head to face Tsumugi and the waitress. The man almost spilled his coffee upon seeing him, his blue-purple eyes were wide as Tsumugi's own eyes also wide in shock. The same exact guy he found beaten up beneath the dumpster is now leisurely sitting in the booth seat, sipping his own cup of coffee. And that man ordered his favorite blend too. What a coincidence. 

"Ah! You must be Tsukioka-san." Said man stood up from his seat, eyes as wide with shock as his. Tsumugi noticed the man wore different clothes than the one he had seen last night, now wearing a simple green flannel shirt with blue jeans, white sneakers and a black cap. 

"Do you know him? You can sit elsewhere if you want to, sir." The waitress said, noticing the sudden awkward moment. 

"N-no, it's fine, I'll sit here." Tsumugi waved his hand and decided to sit across the man and looked back to the waitress. "I'll have the house blend and a slice of strawberry cake, please. We'll split the bill." 

"Sure thing, mister." The waitress quickly disappeared behind the partition towards the café's kitchen. Tsumugi looked back to the man, his hand putting back the coffee cup in a hurried manner. They sat together in awkward silence, not knowing whether to get to the point and talk about last night's events or to simply break this increasingly awkward silence.

"You really are Tsukioka-san, aren't you?" The man said with a hint of disbelief. 

"...I really am. Do you come here often?" Tsumugi said. Tsumugi gazed briefly at the row of seats near the tall wooden partition, only several of them are occupied. At this time of the day Café Anthea wasn't all that crowded with customers. It was absolutely perfect for a relaxing coffee and chat session. His train of thought was quickly disturbed by a loud clanging sound came from a cup on the table. 

The way he sips the hot coffee with a hint of clumsiness and the way he stumbled his words was telling enough that the man didn't meant to meet him here at all. It was all an impromptu meeting at this café. 

"Yeah. I do when I need a cup for surviving my assignments." the man said. "I usually take it away, though." 

"I see. So we didn't get to meet here, um--" 

"Settsu. Settsu Banri." Banri said, hurriedly. 

"Settsu-kun. Nice to meet you properly this time." Tsumugi said. 

"Banri's also fine. Nice to meet you too." Banri offered his hand to a handshake, and Tsumugi accepted. Banri rose one of his eyebrows briefly before retracting his hand. 

"Your hand is kinda chilly, you know." Banri noted briefly. 

"Haha, is it?" Tsumugi said. The last thing he wanted tonight was to frighten Banri or even reveal that he was a vampire. He _ really _doesn't want the latter. 

"Oh, right. Almost forgot." Banri reached for his wallet, pulling several bills to him, the amount was the same as the bills he paid. "Thank you for helping me last night, I want you to take this." 

"Eh? You don't have to--" Tsumugi tried to push away the bills but his hands was stopped by Banri's. 

"Just take it. I was being a total idiot, jumping right into a one-sided brawl and got my ass kicked." Banri slowly pushed the bills closer to him. 

Tsumugi stopped briefly before sighing in defeat. "Thank you, I suppose." It was from his extra savings from days before so he had no other choice but to accept it. 

"I... challenged them actually. It didn't end well for good ol' Settsu." Tsumugi winced. Banri's bruises were not that life threatening but they still need several days to be completely healed up. "Three of them outright cheated with their weird superpowers and they all had these...glowing yellow eyes." 

This man challenged to fight with three vampires? Glowing yellow eyes… Tsumugi had never met one but they must be members of a higher, more powerful vampire clan that live in Central Japan. Settsu Banri is truly a madman. "No wonder the bruises are so bad. Have you been healing up?" Tsumugi tried to change the topic and Banri replied eagerly. "I'm healing up pretty fast actually. I got out of the clinic the next day, slept a little bit, woke up at evening and voilá. I'm here."

"Still...you probably shouldn't do that anymore. At least by not challenging _ them _ for rematch." Tsumugi tried to hide his increasing worry. It's not like he hated vampires but he had a bad experience with one of the clans and he better not to recall that particular memory. 

Banri scoffed."If it was just normal hooligans I would like a rematch if I'm not satisfied. But _ them _...I probably shouldn't, like, at all." Banri shook his head and lowered his voice at the last three words. 

  


After Tsumugi received his coffee and cake, they both talked about the café, how the decór suited Banri's taste and they both agreed that the house blend is one of the tastiest coffees in Veludo Way. Not long they would talk freely as if they were longtime friends and not strangers who accidentally meet each other in the café. Banri got to know Tsumugi, who was currently working part-time as a cram school teacher and taking several odd jobs to pay his rent. Tsumugi got to know Banri, who was about entering his second year at Veludo Arts University this fall, and currently studying music specifically theatre music scores. He found Tsumugi to be a kind man, a bit shy at first but he is a good listener with a gentle smile that could melt any girls' heart if he wanted to. Not only that but something about him seemed to draw him closer as they talk more about their personal life. Tsumugi's eyes, those bright cyan eyes seemed to practically shine whenever Tsumugi talked about his beloved plants. The man enjoyed talking about various plants he owned in his apartment, and he would tell Banri how long they’ve grown and he would accidentally blurted out cute nicknames for each plant he had grown. When Tsumugi realized what he had just said, he would blush and laughed in embarrassment. Banri found that to be surprisingly cute and laughed together. 

Banri also took note on how the man raised the cup rather elegantly, before sipping it slowly and tasting the richness of the blend. "So, how did you end up not taking your coffee to home?" Tsumugi asked after taking the first sip to his coffee. 

"Well, I was meaning to find you on your apartment using your name but yeah, I guess I found you here after all. I even searched your name in social media but...I guess you rarely even updated it." Banri tried to explain. 

"Ah, I forgot I even have an Inste account." Tsumugi laughed. "But that wouldn't be necessary now, is it? Now that you have found me here." 

"Yeah." Banri took the last sip of his coffee. "I don't know why but something tells me that I should enjoy the coffee here instead of taking it back to my apartment." Banri looked up on the café's ceiling. It was mostly plain save for the air vent near the kitchen doors. 

"That's why you meet me here, then. What a coincidence." Tsumugi mused. 

Banri snickered as he looked back to Tsumugi. "Is this some kind of stupid coincidence? Or am I suddenly being good at predicting stuff?" In his eighteen years of living he is proven to be adept at several things at once. Now predicting things accurately should have now been added to his personal achievements. 

Tsumugi laughed softly. "Looks like it. Some people can actually predict big events accurately, you know. They're what people call... 'divinators'?" Tsumugi said. 

Divinators? That's new. "Really? How well did you know about...supernatural stuff?" Banri asked. 

Tsumugi took a bite from his cake with a small fork before wiping his mouth with his free hand. "I'm pretty well educated I suppose." Tsumugi replied briefly before answering more of Banri's questions. Looks like the man really liked to amuse him by answering his seemingly pointless questions with scarily accurate answers. As if he was one of them. One of the--

"You even know how vampires work. Are you one of them then?" Banri blurted out a sudden. "...Your eyes look pretty glowy from here."

Tsumugi sat still on his seat, stopping midway on his explanation about supernaturals in popular movies. Suddenly both of them were back in the same awkward silence like when they first sat together on the table. 

Banri decided to speak up first. "Uh, did I say something wrong, Tsukioka-san?" Great. It went exactly like this when he blurted out something stupid during his family gathering.

After several minutes Tsumugi finally broke the silence with a small voice. "...So what if I am?"

Banri blinked. "Eh, really? I wasn't meant to--" It does not take long for him to realize what he had just said and he froze. He really wasn't prepared for that answer.

"I assure you I am...serious." Tsumugi looked around their seat before bared his fangs, much longer than a normal human incisor teeth. 

Banri almost gasped at the sight but instead covered his mouth in shock. "Whoa. How come you...didn't want to suck my blood or something?" He pointed his finger to Tsumugi's fangs. Banri felt a healthy mix of awe and morbid curiosity after seeing the fangs. Tsumugi quickly closed his mouth in embarrassment, his pale face quickly reddened by his blush. 

Tsumugi saw at Banri's shocked expression and laughed bashfully. "Well, we do ask humans first whether they want us to drink their blood or not. We still do have manners, Banri." Tsumugi gently wiped his mouth probably from the cake crumbs, but Banri noticed the plate was already clean. 

Banri found that discussing myths and facts of vampires with an actual vampire was much more fun than trying to connect several theories and all of the '10 Vampire Facts You Should Know' with the same repeated facts posted on shady sites. After they finally settled their differences they decided to properly discuss the series of events last night. Banri told Tsumugi every detail he remembered, all while Tsumugi continue sipping his coffee. 

"All three of them have fangs, much longer than mine." Tsumugi wiped his jaw, his thoughts were still on Banri's unfortunate experience. 

"And they all have these... glowing yellow eyes. Still can't believe I wasn't aware that those weren't even human eyes." Banri added. 

Tsumugi gazed lower towards his coffee cup and to Banri. "Based on your story you may have met members from one of the oldest and strongest vampire clans in Japan." Tsumugi concluded. 

"Wha…? Do you guys all have clans? Like mobs of sorts?" Banri said with disbelief. 

"Sort of like that. I honestly don't really know much about them. I haven't been in contact with higher vampires for a while. To them I'm just an outsider." Tsumugi sighed. 

"Really? Do they not acknowledge you or something?" Banri asked, genuinely curious. There were so many things he didn't know about his kind, and he better find a solution before more vampires were out for his blood. 

Tsumugi looked again towards the seats in the café, now only occupied by less than five people. "It's...a long story really. If I tell them now the café would have been closed by the time we finished." The vampire shuffled uneasily on his seat, and it looks like he wasn't all too comfortable discussing this particular topic. Banri decided to change the topic to make the atmosphere less grim. 

"Well...guess I have to do something so they won't find me for a rematch and beat me again." Banri shrugged. There won't be an easy way out for his current problem, will it? 

"You should get some kind of vampire repellent for the time being. But the people you mentioned were pretty tough vampires so we definitely need stronger methods." Tsumugi said. "...Actually. Can you visit me again here tomorrow? I think I know someone who is more knowledgeable about this than I do." 

Banri knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "Why tomorrow? Can't you just bring me right after this?"

Tsumugi looked at the hint of a night sky beyond the partition. The café's large windows were pretty far from where they were sitting, but he saw a bright white circle from the river water's reflection. "Tonight is the full moon, Banri. He's probably out doing some rituals to appease the spirits." Tsumugi said without any hint of fear. Appease the spirits? Surely he didn't mean someone who meddles with forbidden magic and cursing people for a living. Banri instantly gulped at Tsumugi's ever calm reply. The vampire laughed at his frightened expression. "Don't worry, he's never done any harmful stuff to his customers as far as I've known him." 

Banri tried to shake off his increasingly wild assumptions and instead agreeing to Tsumugi's request. "Uh...Fine by me. I think I got no classes tomorrow." He looked briefly at his phone calendar. _ Nope, no classes tomorrow, he noted. _

Tsumugi smiled. "Well then. It's really nice to meet you, Banri. See you tomorrow." After paying his own coffee and cake, Tsumugi briefly wiped his mouth before rising up from his seat and left the café. Banri followed shortly after paying his. 

They each had to part ways shortly before the café closed, but he can tell his life is going to experience one hell of a journey with his new vampire friend. Even though Tsumugi was very kind and understanding, he had a bad feeling that someday either of them are going to hurt each other to the point they cannot be together anymore...or was it? Why the heck did he suddenly thought he and the vampire were going to be together? Aren't they in some kind of mutual agreement to have him not to be a group of vampires' blood supply?

  
And he definitely noticed how Tsumugi occasionally wiped his mouth the entire time they talked as if there was an invisible smear near his lips…he sincerely hoped it was just one of his wild imaginations that the vampire he just met tonight somehow wants _ his _blood too.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @c_gridia on twitter!


End file.
